Talk:Catkin (4e Race)

Fun

That's a fun interpretation of the catkin. (Myself, I was just going to file the serial numbers off of "halfling" and call it a day.) --Dmilewski 04:57, 17 June 2008 (MDT)

Claws & Bite

I'm thinking about this:

• Remove claws from race page
• Use Cat Scratch to give +2 Prof / d4. Treated as a real weapon (i.e. no shield)
• Use another feat to get d6. Can get specialization??

Comments?

I (just now) thought about using bite as a cannibalism feat chain. Gives the race more depth to distinguish from halflings. Head hurts (too much calculus) give me a week. :) --Pwsnafu 18:22, 17 June 2008 (MDT)

Balance

Compared to the Halfling to feel for Balance:

Same Ability Scores Same Size Same Speed Same Vision Extra - Language (and an extremely useful one at that! Just ask Bast) Some Number of Skill Bonuses. Extra - Completely Made up creature type (Rakshasa are just Humanoids. I'd go with Humanoid (since its a biped) or Natural Beast (since its a cat)). Extra - Ability to slow fall Extra - Ability to "squeeze" without slowing. Extra - Medium Sized creature Unarmed Damage. Loses - +2 Racial AC Bonus Against Opportunity Attacks.

Power: Double the Movement of the Eladrins ability but isn't teleportation so I think its very balanced.

I think its a great race and seems rather whimsical and fun to play but that is a lot of pluses the halfling doesn't get.

This was converted off of my 3.5 race. It was converted too literally. The real gem of this race is the flavor, not the abilities. If I get time, I'll go over it and compare what it can do vis-a-vis other races. --Dmilewski 18:15, 31 July 2009 (MDT)

New feat idea - thoughts?

I'm new at posting, so please be gentle with comments, corrections, or ideas. I would love the input on this new idea that came to us. My friends and I were discussing how a Catkin doesn't become stronger (very much) in direct offense as it advances. Throughout playing my series of them (I'm on my first, it's a level 2 Rogue class) we've questioned about it's attacking skills and abilities. The way I've set it up is so it has a natural 1d6 or 2d6 based on attacking with one claw or duel claws. The d6 are brought on by Cat Scratch. I'm not sure if the increased dice size should be called an "encounter-martial standard action" or how to phrase it for that manner, simply because it would be his primary attack for every time I chose to attack... I hope that concern made sense.

The feat would be something like:

"Septic Claws" Prerequisite: Catkin, Base Dex 16/18, Cat Scratch, Fangs of Feline, Base/Bonus of 8 in Athletics/Acrobatics

Benefit: Your claws' damage die is now d8.

Normal: Claws deal d6 damage from Cat Scratch.

or

Septic Claws [Catkin] Prerequisite: Catkin, Cat Scratch, Fangs of the Feline, Base Dex 16/18, Base/Bonus of 8 in Athletics/Acrobatics

Benefit: You increase claw damage die one size.

or

Septic Claws Catkin Racial Attack

Your claws are your best weapons, making them deadlier in battle with more accuracy.

Encounter♦Martial

Standard Action

Melee 2 claws

Target: One creature

Attack: Strength vs. AC, two attacks

Hit: 2[W] + Strength modifier damage (main claws)

Effect: Enemy takes damage from both claws at 2d8 + Strength Modifier Damage

Essentially, you'd need prereq's such as the following: Catkin Race Base Dex of *16 / 18

• Cat Scratch

Base/Bonus total skill of 8 or higher in Athletics or *Acrobatics

Essentially, the Catkin is best played as a Rogue, I've found. Best for Stealth, Sneak attacks, Thievery, Bluffing, and Acrobatics. I put a emphasis on base Dex because (in my opinion) you get a +2 to Dex already and should be boosting that as a primary stat. Furthermore, Cat Scratch boosts claws from 1d4 to 1d6 - so you're really just increasing your claws to duel attack with better accuracy. However, I don't see this as a stacking feat, though you could make something similar and have this as a requirement, as well as boost other requirements, to boost attack dice size, or add bonus for attack damage. Just a thought we've been playing around with!

--MiloBelmont 04:07, 21 May 2011 (MDT)

More changes

• Removed "feline" as a language, clarified the associated trait.
• "Beast" is not an origin, it is a physical form. PCs need to be Humanoid. That leaves us with "natural" which is the default anyway.
• Removed claws. Lots of races have claws, no trait is needed. If the race is expected to fight with their claws, they can take a feat for it. That needs to remain optional, as it's going to depend on their class.
• Dropped Burst of Speed to +2, not +4. If it lasts until the end of their next turn, that's potentially 4 move actions, giving 16 bonus squares. Anything that gives more than the equivalent of one move action (6 squares) is excessive. Marasmusine 04:30, 2 April 2012 (MDT)